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82

GameSpy

Ty the Tasmanian Tiger is a by-the-numbers platformer. It doesn't take many chances, but it doesn't make many mistakes. Our hero's various boomerangs are an original touch, but they don't really make him stand out in a world overflowing with mascots. The actual Tasmanian tiger has been extinct since the 1930's, but ironically, a report earlier this year says that Australian geneticists are attempting to clone the marsupial from replicated DNA, thus bringing it back to life. Developer Krome Studios seems to have beaten the scientists at their own game. It brought Ty to life simply by cloning other games.

Overall, this is a well done, cutesy, fun title for the Gamecube which will entertain adults and youngsters alike. Even with the repetitive nature of the genre type at times, It’s evident that Krome strived to do some things differently to make it stand on it’s own two feet and give people something a little different. So if you enjoy platformer titles, and don’t mind the fact that it won’t be any groundbreaking new style or won’t change the platforming world, then you owe it to yourself to at least give this one a rental and see if it’s what you’re looking for.

All in all, Ty is a decent game for beginners looking for a solid platform experience. While it has good graphics, awesome sound and decent play, the brevity of gameplay winds up selling this title short in the end. This may be perfect for your little brother or sister as you try to indoctrinate them to the world of game playing, but for wily vets looking for a solid platform, you’ll probably wind up looking elsewhere.

What ultimately may influence your decision to purchase the game is its length. There are only 17 levels in the game, and while the nine main levels are very large, the others aren't very complex. Trying to find all the optional collectible items, of which there are many, will take some time, but ignoring them and making a dedicated run from the start of the game to the final battle will take less than 10 hours and even as little as four or five hours for some. The short length is somewhat justified by the game's $39.99 price point and the high quality of the game's content. Ty the Tasmanian Tiger is great for younger players and can provide a satisfying experience for teens and adults as long as they don't mind their replay value coming from finding every last collectible in the game.

3D Platformers are sometimes bogged down with excessively tedious collecting, and sometimes veer off the road of fun. Ty The Tasmanian Tiger does have a lot of collecting, but there is also an emphasis on the puzzles and using the boomerangs to attack enemies. The boomerang concept is unique, and it’s cool to have two (one for each hand), but the execution of the boomerangs focus them on attack. It would be a nice twist if the sequel had more puzzles that made unique use of the boomerangs. Still, Ty is an extremely fun and easy to control game, that would definitely appeal to younger or casual gamers. Hardcore gamers might be turned off by the easy nature of the levels and game in general, but it’s such a joy to play and the characters are so appealing that the short gametime is somewhat forgiveable.

It seems as though the world will never run out of videogame "platforming" titles. Every year -- especially around this end of the year holiday season -- publishers from all corners of the industry bombard the market with a new fully-controllable animal set loose in a colorful 3D world and on a mission to collect X number gravity-defying objects. It's a formula that we've all seen put into practice many times over since the dawn of the 2D side-scroller. And despite recent technological advancements in the art of gaming, it's a formula that publishers won't be giving up anytime soon for one specific reason -- 3D platformers still sell.